Mediocrity obtains more with application than superiority without it.

The wise man does at once what the fool does finally.

Dreams will get you nowhere, a good kick in the pants will take you a long way.

He that can live alone resembles the brute beast in nothing, the sage in much, and God in everything.

It is better to sleep on things beforehand than lie awake about them afterwards.

Self-reflection is the school of wisdom.

The wise have a solid sense of silence and the ability to keep a storehouse of secrets. Their capacity and character are respected.

Know or listen to those who know.

To find one real friend in a lifetime is good fortune; to keep him is a blessing.

There are friendships merely for pleasure, some for the exchange of ideas. Rarest are those friends of one's inmost self.

A single lie destroys a whole reputation for integrity.

I have always loved books, and as a mother, I wanted to share my passion for reading with my children.

You have to collaborate with the moment and the environment. It kind of was magnified by the house being a studio.

I've gone from singing to millions on a network show one day to singing to four people in a gymnasium in Casper, Wyo., the next.

Cosmologists are often in error, but never in doubt

I think people respond to truthful, simple narrative, and the more you try to dress it up to try and do something else, the harder it is for people to relate to.

You don't start at the top if you want to find the story. You start in the middle, because it's the people in the middle who do the actual work in the world.

My dad didn't riot. He got on his bike and looked for work

The trouble with selfish motives is that they harden into principles, and you end up sending your kids to war for them.

The million, million, million ... to one chance happens once in a million, million, million ... times no matter how surprised we may be that it results in us.

When I'm writing, those ideas are seldom inspired by music itself. I won't often listen to an artist and come up with an idea.